Exgavatiwg-machine



G. 1).. STILLSON. EXOAVATING MACHINE.

'Patented Now 14, 1854.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE D. STILIJSON, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

EXCAVATING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 11,949, dated November 14, 1854.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE D..ST1LLsoN, of Rochester, in the county ofMonroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machines for Excavating, Transporting, and DumpingEarth, which I term an Excavator;

and I do hereby declare the following to bev a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making a part thereof, in which,

Figure 1, represents a perspective view, and Fig. 2, a longitudinal andvertical sect-ion through the center of the same.

Similar letters where they occur in the figures denote like parts.

.scraper to the frame or axle which supports it by means of pivotedradial arms orbraces, as that said scraper with the earth thereon, mayby a hand wheel or other equivalent device, be first raised uphorizontally or nearly so, a sufficient distance to suspend it on thewheels by which it is to be drawn away, and by continuing to raise it bythe same means, may be tilted and dumped. Also in the attaching of thescraper to the wheels, truck or frame, by rigid arms, so that the entireweight of the carriage and load upon it, may be employed in holding thescraper to its work. Also, in the use of a breaker placed at or near'thefront of the scraper, for the purpose of loosening up the earth, andfacilitating its progress to the rear of the scraper, and to preventpacking or clogging in the front of the scraper.

To enable others skilled in the art, to

make and use my invention, I will proceed chine. To the rear parts ofeach of the shafts are pivoted or hinged the bars or braces D, E-the one(D) being pivoted at a, and the other (E) at b,the lower ends of saidbars or braces being respectively pivoted or hinged to the sides F ofthe scraper at .cZ, 6, so that they together with the cords or chains 0,0, shall suspend and hold suspended at any desired point, the scraper G.

It will be perceived that the points of suspension a, b, are not in thesame plane, nor are those cl, e, and yet the two pairs of bars or bracesD, E, are of the same or nearly of the same length. The object anddesign of so suspending, is to cause the scraper to first risehorizontally, and remain in that position while being hauled olf uponthe truck or wheels, and then by continuing to raise up, it shall betilted and dumped.

The bars or braces D, should be rigid, that is, not flexible, becausethey serve as radial arms on which the body of the scraper iscontrolled. The bars or braces E, serve rather to suspend the scraperthan to hold it at any fixed point, and instead of their being rigid ornonfiexible, they may be supporting chainsnot so however, the arms D,

it is necessary to the efficiency of the machine that they should beunyielding, for reasons that will hereafter be given.

The scraper G, may be made entirely of metal, or of wood and metalcombined, and

should be made a little wider in front than in the rear, for the purposeof cutting or removing a sufficiency of earth at the front, to allow therear to pass through without unnecessary friction'the object being tocause the point or steel edge H, of the scraper, to be the only partwhich shall come in ,contact with the earth to be removed. The scraperwhen brought with its edge I-I, against the earth,is prevented fromswinging backward, by the rigid arms or braces D, which tend rather, inconnection with the draft of the horse or horses, to force forward saidedge into the earth, while the weight of the earth aids to prevent itfrom rising. Indeed the whole carriage itself with its accumulating loadtends to hold the scraper to its work, inasmuch as the rigidity of thearms D, will prevent the scraper from rising without raising with it thecarriage and the fixed point at which it is set on account of the chains0, a. The scraper therefore,

load. This controls the upward tendency--v of the scraper, while itcannot descend below iio when suspended or set at its most effectivecutting point, be raised or lowered at pleasure, in nearly the sameplane, to relieve the cutting edge, facilitate its progress through theground, or to raise it over any obstruction, by the attendant, but itcannot run into, or out of the ground of itself, unless it takes thecarriage with it. There is, therefore, a principle involved in thushanging and controlling the scraper, which cannot be made practical whenchains, cords, or flexible connections are alone used between thecarriage and the scraper. The radial arm or brace combines theadvantages of rigidity and adjustability, in holding and adjusting thescraper to its work, while the flexible connections have no suchfunction, the scraper running out of the ground in defiance of theattendant.

The point a, is the center of motion of the scraper when raised andlowered, and when raised from its lowest position, it must advancesomewhat into the resisting earth or whatever it may be worked in, andthat although the rear of the scraper may slightly drop, it does notpractically change the relative position of the edge of the scraper tothe earth. This motion of the scraper, allows the attendant to give itall the favorable manipulations due to hand shoveling or digging, withthe addition of the power and weight of the machine to aid him, and thusmakes the machine in any soils entirely practical.

In ordinary hand scrapers, such as are in common use, and which haverounded runners or bottoms, when the attendant attempts by working thelevers or handles to ease the scraper through the ground, the very. actitself constantly changes the angle of the cutting or scraping edge, andmakes it tend to run into, or out of the ground. This evil to a certainextent also attaches, to flexible connections, when the scraper is hungupon wheels, and the cutting edge is never brought or held up to itswork until the chains or cords are all brought up taut, and then withsuch a sudden jar as to injure both the horses and the machine. By myarrangement when the cutting edge is set at its most effective cuttingor scraping position, it can be raised or lowered to relieve it ofunduestrain, or for mounting over any obstructions without practicallychanging that position.

I have described the scraper as being wider in front than in the rear,so as to cut a clear way through the ground and prevent friction ordragging of the rear part. This in many soils would cause the earth topack or clog in the front of the scraper, and pre vent its sliding backinto the box or body thereof. To avoid this I have arranged a breaker oragitator J, near the front of the scraper, which is hinged at g, to thebottom, and is somewhat of a shovel. form, though may be forked, or ofany other convenient form. A lever K, the rear end of which extends backfar enough to be readily caught and operated by the attendant behind thescraper, is pivoted at i, and projects through an opening in J, and hasthat end of it forkedone fork n, Fig. 2, for holding down, and the otherm, for raising up said breaker. WVhen the scraper is Working in stiff orrugged soils, this lever is vibrated, which raises and lowers thebreaker and the earth upon it, breaking up the latter, and allowing itto readily pass back into the box; and when the scraper is nearlyloaded, or considerable earth resting upon the agitator J, the lever K,may be pressed down, until its arm or fork n, ceases to act on thebreaker, when the earth passing under it, will turn it backward, andcause it to force back the earth lying upon or immediately in rear ofit, into the body or rear. of the scraper, from whence it is morereadily dumped or delivered. The rear part of the scraper may befurnished with a hinged door I, and a catch f, to facilitate the dumpingor unloading of its contents.

On the right hand side of the machine (for convenience) is arranged ashaft L, which has upon its rear end a hand wheel hi, and upon its frontend a bevel spur gear N, working into another bevel gear wheel 0, on ashaft P, which extends across the shafts or frame C, C. To this shaft P,is connected the cords or chainsc, 0, which are at their lower endsfastened to the scraper; and a click, stop, orcatch of any kind may beconnected to either of the shafts L, P, or to the hand wheel, so as tohold the scraper when desirable at any fixed point of suspension fromthe wheels or frame. By turning the hand wheel M, the scraper with itsload will rise horizontally, or nearly so, to such a height as willadmit of its being drawn off the ground by the wheels A; and when it hasarrived at the place where the earth is to be deposited, by continuingto turn said hand wheel in the same direction, the scraper will riseuntil the points of suspension at, of the radial arms D, and the points6, e, at which the cords or chains are connected to the scraper, rise tonearly the same horizontal plane. When at this point, the pivots a, be-

come the center of motion and the front of the scraper rises rapidly,and the rear as rapidly drops, until it stands at such incli-' nation,as to readily allow the earth to slide off the door or tail board I, ifused being first tripped, or loosened from its catch. As a modificationof the hand wheel, and gearing as represented, a lever and rock shaft,may be used for raising the scraped, or a 'toothed rack and segment, butall these, so

long as the cutting edge is under the control of the attendant, with themeans of applying the power and weight of the machine and its load, toholding said edge to its work, are but mere changes of well knownraising machinery, without altering or changing the general character ofthe machine.

The rigid arms, as a means of connection between the carriage andscraper, perform several important functions viz: they keep the scraperfirmly toits work, possessing all the advantages of rigidityandadjustability; they allow the edge to be worked or controlled, so asto relieve it from undue resistance, whilst it may have all the motionsof hand shoveling; they allow the body to be raised and held up in ahorizontal position, or nearly so, so that it may be hauled off, andfinally, they so incline the scraper as to admit of its being readilydumped, and thus make efl'ective'by simple means, a very desirableimplement.

Having thus fully described the nature of my invention what I claimtherein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Thecontrolling of the cutting edge of the excavator, so as to keep italways at, or about the same relative position in regard to the earth tobe removed and yet admit of being raised or lowered to ease said cuttingedge, when too powerfully resisted, and thus materially aid the scraperin entering and passing through the earth to be removed, by meanssubstantially such as described.

2. I also claim the so hanging of the scraper to the frame whichsupports it, by

means of pivoted radial arms or braces, as

that said scraper and the earth thereon, may by the turning of a handwheel or other equivalent device, be first raised up horizontally ornearly so,'a sufficient distance to ad mit of its being drawn away, andthen by 40 continuing to turn said hand wheel or other raising power, togradually tilt and dump the scraper, substantially as described.

3. I also claim the hanging of the scraper to the frame or truck bymeans of rigid arms, so as to employ the entire weight, of the carriageand load upon it, in holding the scraper to its work.

4. I also claim the use of a breaker, substantially such as described,placed at or near the front of the scraper, for the purpose of looseningup the earth and facilitating its progress to the rear of the scraper,and to prevent packing or clogging in the front of the scraper, as setforth.

GEO. D. STILLSON.

Witnesses A. B. SToUcHToN, THOMAS H. UPPERMAN.

